1 Unsaturated Polyester Resins Unsaturatedpolyesterresinsconsistoftwopolymers, 1.2.1 Monomersforan i.e., a short-chain polyester containing polymeriz- UnsaturatedPolyester able double bonds and a vinyl monomer. The curing Monomersusedforunsaturatedpolyestersareshown reaction consists of a copolymerization of the vinyl in Table 1.1 and in Figures 1.1 and 1.2. Unsaturated monomer with the double bonds of the polyester. In diolsareonlyrarelyused. the course of curing, a three-dimensional network is formed. Unsaturated polyester resins belong to 1.2.1.1 Alcohol Components the group of so-called thermosets. There are several monographs and reviews on unsaturated polyesters The most common alcohol components are 1,2- andunsaturatedpolyesterresins[1–7]. propyleneglycolandethyleneglycol(EG).Ethercon- We will differentiate between unsaturated taining alcohols exhibit better air-drying properties polyesters and unsaturated polyester resins. Unsat- andareusedintopcoats.Polyestersbasedonunsatu- urated polyesters are the polyesters as they emerge rated diols can be prepared by the transesterification from the condensation vessel. They are rarely sold of diethyl adipate with unsaturated diols, e.g., cis- assuch,becausetheyarebrittleatroomtemperature 2-butene-1,4-diol and 2-butyne-1,4-diol. The trans- anddifficulttohandle.Instead,wheneverapolyester esterification method is a suitable procedure for the is freshly synthesized in a plant, it is mixed with the preparation of unsaturated polyesters in comparison vinyl monomer in the molten state. Thus materials tothedirectpolycondensation[11].cis-2-Butene-1,4- that are viscous at room temperature, with a styrene diol,themostavailablealiphaticunsaturateddiol,has content of ca. 60%, are sold. Such a mixture of an beenusedtoproducesomevaluablepolymerssuchas unsaturated polyester with the vinyl polymer is graftableunsaturatedsegmentedpoly(urethane)sand referredtohereasanunsaturatedpolyesterresin. crosslinkablepolyestersformedicalpurposes. Chemically modified soybean oil is an inexpen- 1.1 History sive alternative candidate for unsaturated polyester (UP)compositions.Inaddition,whenreinforcedwith Itwasrealizedlongagothatsomenaturaloilsaswell natural fibers, these composites could yield compa- asalkyleresinscanbedriedbycertainadditivesand rable and adequate properties to common products. used as coatings. This drying results from a poly- Acrylated epoxidized soybean oil or maleated acry- merization of the unsaturated moieties in the ester latedepoxidizedsoybeanoilcanbeusedforthesyn- molecules. Next it was discovered that the addition thesis of a prepolymer that contains vinyl groups. ofstyrenewouldacceleratethedrying.Theinvention These groups are then copolymerized with styrene, ofunsaturatedpolyesterresinsisascribedtoCarleton asotherwiseusual[15]. Ellis (1876–1941). The first patents with regard to polyester resins emerged in the 1930s [8–10]. Com- 1.2.1.2 Acid and Anhydride mercialproductionstartedin1941alreadyreinforced Components with glass fibers for radar domes, also referred to as Ageneral-purposeindustrialunsaturatedpolyesteris radomes. madefrom1,2-propyleneglycol,phthalicanhydride, and maleic anhydride. The most commonly used 1.2 Monomers vinylmonomerisstyrene.Maleicanhydridewithout phthalicanhydridewouldyieldapolyesterwithahigh According to the composition of an unsaturated density of double bonds along the polyester chain. polyesterresin,themonomerscanbegroupedintwo This would result in a high crosslinking density of main classes, i.e., components for the polyester and thecuredproduct,thusinabrittleproduct.Therefore, componentsforthevinylmonomer. theunsaturatedacidcomponentisalwaysdilutedwith Fink:ReactivePolymersFundamentalsandApplications.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-4557-3149-7.00001-2 ©2013ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved. 1 2 REACTIVE POLYMERS FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS Table1.1 MonomersforUnsaturatedPolyesters SaturatedAlcohols Remarks 1,2-Propyleneglycol Mostcommonglycol Ethyleneglycol Lesscompatiblewithstyrenethanpropyleneglycol Diethyleneglycol Gooddryingproperties Neopentylglycol Goodhydrolysisresistance Glycerol Trifunctional alcohol, for branched polyesters. Danger of crosslinking duringcondensation Flameretardant TetrabromobisphenolA(TBBPA) Trimethylolpropane Trifunctionalalcohol,cheaperthanglycerol Trimethylolpropanemonoallylether Weatherresistantforcoatings[12,13] Undecanol Usedaschainstopper SaturatedAcidsandAnhydrides Remarks Phthalicanhydride Mostcommonanhydride Isophthalicacid Goodhydrolysisresistance Terephthalicacid Superiorhydrolysisresistance HETacid Flameretardantsystems.Infact,evenwhenaddressedasHETacid, theHETanhydrideisused Tetrabromophthalicanhydride Flameretardantsystems Adipicacid Softresins Sebacicacid Softresins o-Carboxyphthalanilicacid [14] UnsaturatedAcidsandAnhydrides Remarks Maleicanhydride Mostcommon Fumaricacid Copolymerizesbetterwithstyrenethanmaleicanhydride Itaconicacid CH willnotpolymerize.Fumaricacidcopolymerizeswell 3 HO C H C H OH HO CH CH OH with styrene, but fumaric acid is more costly than 2 2 2 maleicanhydride.Therefore,maleicanhydrideisthe Ethylene glycol Propylene glycol preferredunsaturatedacidcomponent.Anotheraspect isthatduringthecondensationoffumaricacid,2mol ofwatermustberemovedfromthereactionmixtures, CH 3 whereas in the case of maleic anhydride only 1mol HO CH C CH OH 2 2 of water must be removed. Anhydridesare preferred CH3 over the corresponding acids because of the higher reactivity. Neopentyl glycol Isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid cannot form an anhydride. These compounds do not condense as CH2OH fast as phthalic anhydride. On the other hand, the H3C CH2 C CH2OH CH2 CH CH2 polyestersfromisophthalicacidandterephthalicacid CH2OH OH OH OH aremorestablethanthosemadefromphthalicanhy- dride. That is why these polyesters with neopentyl Trimethylol propane Glycerol glycolareusedinaggressiveenvironmentsandasgel coats and top coats. A gel coat is the first layer of a Figure 1.1 Diols and triols used for unsaturated polyesterresins. multilayer material; the top coat is the layer on the oppositeside.Forinstance,ifapolyesterboatisbuilt, an acid with non-polymerizable double bonds. Note the gel coat is first painted into the model. Then a that aromatic double bonds also will not polymerize seriesofglass-fiber-reinforcedlaminatesareapplied, withvinylcomponents.ThedoublebondinHETacid andfinallythetopcoatispainted. 1:UNSATURATED POLYESTER RESINS 3 O COOH step, the intermediate reacts with maleic anhydride and with 1,2-propylene glycol. The resulting unsat- O urated polyester resin has a fumarate content greater thanabout85%[17].Thehighfumaratecontenthelps O COOH the resins to cure quickly and thoroughly with vinyl monomers, giving the resulting thermosets excellent Phthalic anhydride Isophthalic acid waterresistance. Cl Cl 1.2.1.3 Amine Modifiers Cl COOH Cl Theadductsofethyleneoxideorpropyleneoxidewith O N,N(cid:3)-diphenylethane-1,2-diamine or N,N-dimethyl- p-phenylene diamine and ethylene oxide (EO) with Cl Cl O N,N(cid:3)-diphenylhexane-1,6-diamine can be used as modifiers.Whenusedinamountsupto2%,theamines COOH O substantiallyreducethegelationtimeofthesemodi- fied unsaturated polyesters. However, as the reactiv- Terephthalic acid HET-anhydride ity of the resins increases, their stability decreases [18,19]. O H 1.2.1.4 Dicyclopentadiene O COOH Dicyclopentadieneisusedinawidevarietyofappli- H CH CH cations,includingelastomers,flameretardants,pesti- O HOOC cides, and resins for adhesives, coatings, and rubber tackifiers. Approximately 30% of the production is Maleic anhydride Fumaric acid usedforunsaturatedpolyesterresinsbecauseoftheir Figure 1.2 Acids and anhydrides used for unsatu- valuableproperties[20]. ratedpolyesterresins. Dicyclopentadienepolyesterresinsaresynthesized fromdicyclopentadiene,maleicanhydride,andagly- col.Thereactionisperformedinthepresenceofwater Isomerization. During the synthesis of the poly- togeneratemaleicacidfromthemaleicanhydrideto ester, maleic anhydride partly isomerizes to fumaric form dicyclopentadiene maleate. The ene reaction is acid.Theisomerizationfollowssecond-orderkinetics showninFigure1.3. becauseofthecatalysisbymaleicacid.Theactivation Themaleateisesterifiedwiththeglycoltoformthe energyoftheisomerizationisca.63.2kJmol−1 [16]. unsaturated polyester resin [21,22]. The ene adduct 2-Methyl-1,3-propanediol offers significant pro- servestoformendcappedpolyesters.Athighertem- cess advantages to resin producers because it is an peraturesdicyclopentadieneundergoesaretroDiels- easilyhandledliquid,ithasahighboilingpoint,andit Alder reaction and can add to the unsaturations of hastwoprimaryhydroxylgroupsforrapidcondensa- fumaric acid and maleic acid (as pointed out in tions. Polyester resins produced from 2-methyl-1,3- Figure 1.4), to form nadic acid units. When the propanediol using conventional condensation poly- dicyclopentadiene-modified unsaturated polyester is merization, however, have relatively low fumarate used for a molding material, the polyester is usually contents (60–70%), and simply increasing the mixedwitharadicallypolymerizablemonomeranda reactiontemperaturetopromoteisomerizationcauses polymerization initiator. This allows the viscosity or colorproblems. curingtimeofthemoldingmaterialtobesuitablefor The two-step process helps increase the degree of themoldingoperation. isomerization for such systems. First, the aromatic Dicyclopentadiene-modified unsaturated poly- dicarboxylic acid is allowed to react with 2-methyl- esters yield molded articles with excellent perfor- ◦ 1,3-propanediol at a temperature of up to 225 C mance.Thefunctionofdicyclopentadieneistoimpart to produce an ester diol intermediate. In the second air-dryingcharacteristics,low-profileproperties,high 4 REACTIVE POLYMERS FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS O O Table1.2 VinylMonomersforUnsaturated OH OH PolyesterResins + H Monomer Remarks OH O Styrene Mostcommon,butcarcinogenic O O p-Vinyltoluene Notreallyasubstituteforstyrene Figure 1.3 Ene reaction between maleic acid and α-Methylstyrene Slowsthecuring dicyclopentadiene. Methylacrylate Methylmethacrylate Goodopticalproperties Diallylphthalate Triallylcyanurate CH CH 2 CH CH 2 O O O O CH 3 + O O Styrene p- Vinyltoluene O O Figure 1.4 Retro Diels-Alder reaction ofdicyclopen- tadieneandDiels-Alderreactionbetweenmaleicacid CH3 unitsandcyclopentadiene. C CH 2 CH 2 O heat distortion, excellent weathering performance, CH2 CH2 C O CH and increased filler dispersibility in the resulting 3 polymer[23]. α-Methylstyrene Methyl methacrylate 1.2.2 VinylMonomers Thevinylmonomerservesassolventforthepolyester O and reduces its viscosity. Further, it is the agent C O CH2 CH CH2 of copolymerization in the course of curing. Vinyl monomersforunsaturatedpolyesterresinsareshown inTable1.2andinFigure1.5. C O CH2 CH CH2 O 1.2.2.1 Styrenes Diallyl phthalate Styrene is the most widely used vinyl monomer Figure1.5 Vinylmonomersforunsaturatedpolyester for unsaturated polyesters. However, styrene has a resins. carcinogenic potential: therefore, replacing styrene bysomeothervinylmonomerhasbeendiscussedfor fibers, which is useful in preventing delami- years. nation. With larger amounts of styrene the rigidity of the materialcanbeincreased.α-Methylstyreneformsless 1.2.2.2 Acrylates and Methacrylates reactive radicals, and thus slows down the curing reaction. Therefore, α-methylstyrene is suitable for Acrylates improve outdoor stability. Methyl meth- decreasingthepeaktemperatureduringcuring. acrylate, in particular, enhances the optical proper- Polar vinyl monomers, such as vinylpyridine, ties. The refractive index can be varied with mix- improve the adhesion of the polyester to glass turesofstyreneandmethylmethacrylateclosetothat 1:UNSATURATED POLYESTER RESINS 5 CH CH O CH CH O CH CH cured products show good tensile properties and 2 2 2 2 2 2 O O weatherability. CH CH Another method used to make unsaturated CH CH 2 2 polyesters water soluble is to introduce polar hydrophilic groups such as carboxylic and sulfonic Triethylene glycol divinyl ether groups into the resin molecule, which ensures a Figure1.6 Vinylethers. good dispersibility in water. An example of such a compound is sodium 5-sulfonatoisophthalic acid. Insteadofstyrene,glycerolmonoethersofallylalco- of glass, so that fairly transparent materials can be hol and unsaturated fatty alcohols are used as vinyl produced. monomer[27]. Unsaturated polyester resins diluted in water are 1.2.2.3 Vinyl Ethers used for particleboards and fiberboards. They are modifiedwithacrylonitrileandusedasmixtureswith Various vinyl and divinyl ethers have been used as urea/formaldehyde (UF) resins. A mixture of a UP substitutes for styrene. Divinyl ethers with unsatu- resinandaUFresinallowstheproductionofboards rated polyesters are used preferably in radiation cur- which have considerably higher mechanical proper- able compositions and coatings. However, special tiesthanthosebondedexclusivelywithUFresins[28]. formulations containing no styrene but triethylene glycoldivinylether(cf.Figure1.6)areavailablethat canbeusedforgelcoats[24]. 1.2.3.2 Low Emission Modifiers Propenylethersaregenerallyeasiertopreparethan Several methods have been proposed for reducing theircorrespondingvinylethers.Thepropenylethers volatileorganiccompoundemissions: are simply prepared by isomerization of the corre- sponding allyl ethers. Due to the steric effect of the • addingskinformingmaterials, methyl groups in the propenyl ether molecules, they areexpectedtobemuchlessreactivethantheirvinyl • replacement of the volatile monomer with a less etheranalogs[25].Examplesforpropenylethersare volatilemonomer, ethoxylated hexanediol dipropenyl ether and 1,1,1- • reductionintheamountofthemonomerinthecom- trimethylolpropanedipropenylether. positions,and • increasing the vinyl monomers by attaching them 1.2.2.4 Other Vinyl Monomers ontothepolyesterchain. Triallylcyanurateenhancesthethermalstabilityofthe finalproducts.Sincethecompoundistrifunctional,it The addition of paraffins to unsaturated polyester enhancesthecrosslinkingdensity. resinshasbeenshowntoreduceemissionsbyforming a thin film on the resin surface. While suitable for 1.2.3 Specialities some applications, this solution is unacceptable for other applications due to a decreased interlaminate 1.2.3.1 Monomers for Waterborne adhesion[29]. Unsaturated Polyesters Waterborneunsaturatedpolyestersareusedforwood Low Volatile Monomers. Styrene can be partly coatings. They have UV-sensitive initiator systems. substituted by low volatile monomers. A num- The basic constituents are selected from ethylene ber of alternatives have been sought to reduce glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and emissions and as substitutes for styrene. Higher tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, terephthalic acid, and molecular weight derivatives of styrene, such as trimellitic anhydride [26]. The vinyl monomer is vinyl toluene and tert-butyl styrene, have been uti- trimethylol propane diallyl ether. The UV-sensitive lized as reactive diluents and resulted in decreased compound is 2-hydroxy-2-methylphenylpropane-1- emissions[29]. one. When diluted with water, the resins exhibit Bivalent metal salts of acrylic acid or methacrylic a proper viscosity in the range of 2500cps. The acidhavelowvaporpressure.Examplesincludezinc 6 REACTIVE POLYMERS FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS diacrylate, zinc dimethacrylate, calcium diacrylate, fumaricacidwithepoxygroupsfromepoxideresins. andcalciumdimethacrylate[30]. For example, n-hexanol reacts easily with maleic The metal salt monomer is typically a solid, and anhydridetoformacidichexylmaleate.Thishalfester therefore has much lower vapor pressure than, e.g., is then used for the addition reaction with the epoxy styrene. The acrylate functionality copolymerizes resin[34]. readily with styrene. Due to the bivalent metal ions, Allyl alcohol in the unsaturated resins enhances the acrylates act as crosslinkers of the ionomer type. their properties. The glass transition temperatures of ◦ Therefore, an additionalcrosslinkingoccurs in com- the epoxy fumarate resins exceed 100 C. The glass parisontopurestyrene. transitiontemperaturesofepoxymaleatesarehigher ◦ than 70 C. The resins have good chemical resis- Acrylate-modified Unsaturated Polyesters. tance[35]. Acrylate-modified unsaturated polyesters may be used for low-viscosity resins and resins with low emission of volatile monomers. In commercially 1.2.3.4 Isocyanates availableunsaturatedpolyesterresinapplications,up to 50% of styrene or other vinyl monomers are Isocyanates, such as toluene diisocyanate, can be used. During curing some of the organic monomer added to a formulated resin, such as polyester plus is usually lost to the atmosphere, which causes vinylmonomer.Thegelationtimesincreasewiththe occupational safety hazards and an environmental concentrationoftoluenediisocyanate[36]. problem. During curing, toluene diisocyanate can ini- Tailoring the polyester by synthesizing branched tially react with the UP moieties and produce structures and incorporating additional vinyl poly(urethane) structures. Subsequently, intermolec- unsaturations has been proposed. The diol alco- ularcrosslinkingoccurs.Toluenediisocyanatehasan hols used for condensation may be partly replaced obviouseffectonthetoughnessandstrengthofaUP by glycidyl compounds in order to obtain low- resin. A ratio of isocyanate to UP of 7.5% exhibited molecular-weight methacrylate or acrylate-modified thebestmechanicalproperties[37]. or terminated polyesters [31]. Suitable glycidyl The viscosity increases strongly. Resins with only compounds include glycidyl methacrylate and 3% of toluene diisocyanate are thixotropic [36]. An glycidyl acrylate. Not more than 60mol% of the increaseintheviscosityishighlyundesirable. alcohols can be replaced by glycidyl compounds A 1,6-hexane diisocyanate (HDI) trimer can [24,32]. improvethemechanicalpropertiesofahydroxylter- These polyesters have low viscosities because of minated UP type. The morphological analysis of the the branched structures. In addition to the maleic surfaces of fracture reveals the presence of micro or fumaric units, they bear additional unsatura- phase separated structures. These change from den- tions resulting from the pending reactive acrylate dritic,todimpleandtocystiformstructureswhenthe or methacrylate moieties. For this reason these contentoftheHDItrimerisincreased[38]. types need less vinyl monomer (styrene) to increase Toreducetheemissions,styrene-freeUPcomposi- the crosslinking density of the cured product. The tionshavebeendeveloped[29]. increased unsaturation results in a higher reactivity, These are based on a dicyclopentadiene contain- which in turn leads to an increase in heat distortion ingUP,aurethaneacrylateormethacrylate,amulti- temperatureandbettercorrosionresistance,goodpig- functional methacrylate monomer, and a hydroxyl mentability, and excellent mechanical and physical functionalizedmethacrylatemonomer. properties [33]. Such resins are therefore suitable as Hydroxyl functionalized methacrylates may basicresinsingelcoats. be used in the preparation of the urethane methacrylatemonomercomponentorasamonomeric reactivediluent.Thesecompoundsincludehydroxy- 1.2.3.3 Epoxide-Based Unsaturated ethyl methacrylate, hydroxypropyl methacrylate, Polyesters hydroxyethyl acrylate, and hydroxypropyl acry- Epoxide-based unsaturated polyesters are obtained late. The preparation of the base UP and the other fromthereactionofhalfestersofmaleicanhydrideof monomershasbeenexemplifiedindetail[29]. 1:UNSATURATED POLYESTER RESINS 7 1.2.3.5 o-Carboxy Phthalanilic Acid Alsopolymersfrommethylenediphenylisocyanate havebeenusedinthecompositions.Theinfluenceof A new acid monomer, o-carboxy phthalanilic the modifications on thermal and mechanical prop- acid, cf. Figure 1.7, has been synthesized from ertieshasbeeninvestigated.Withincreasingamount o-aminobenzoic acid with phthalic anhydride. This ofplantoilsadded,theglasstransitiontemperatures, monomer was condensed with different acids and the elastic modulus, and the Charpy impact strength glycols to prepare unsaturated polyesters. These decrease. In contrast, the static fracture toughness polyesters were admixed with styrene and cured. somewhatincreases. The final materials were extensively characterized Themethylenediphenylisocyanatemoietiescause [14,39]. an additional crosslinking. This causes a marked It was found that the styrene/poly(1,2-propylene- increase of the glass transition temperature, but maleate-o-carboxy phthalanilate) polyester resin has the elastic modulus in the glassy state markedly the highest compressive strength value and the best decreases.However,thethermaldegradationbehavior chemicalresistanceandphysicalpropertiesamongthe isslightlyaffected,asthethermalstabilitydecreases materialsunderinvestigation. [40,42]. Highly adhesive unsaturated polyester resin com- 1.2.3.6 Modified Plant Oils positions for fixing or immobilizing coils have been Acrylated epoxidized soybean and linseed oils of described [41]. These compositions are suitable for different characteristics have been incorporated into electrical insulation and immobilization of electrical vinylesterresinsandUPresins[40,42].Thechemical equipmentsuchasmotorsandtransformers.Particu- structureofthemodifiedoilsisshowninFigure1.8. larly useful isocyanates have a vinyl group attached, BlendingofUPcompositionwithtungoilresultsin e.g., 2-methacryloyloxyethyl isocyanate or 2-[(3,5- an improved impact strength, creep resistance, mod- dimethylpyrazolyl)carboxyamino]ethyl methacryl- ulus,andhardness[43]. ate.Thelatterisapyrazolblockedisocyanate.These isocyanatesdonotshortenthepotlifeoftheresulting resincompositionandimprovetheadhesionstrength. HO OH ThestructuresareshowninFigure1.9. O O C C O 1.2.4 Synthesis NH C Thesynthesisofunsaturatedpolyestersoccurseither Figure1.7 o-Carboxyphthalanilicacid[14]. by a bulk condensation or by azeotropic condensa- tion. General-purpose polyesters can be condensed by bulk condensation, whereas more sensitive com- ponentsneedtheazeotropiccondensationtechnique, O which can be performed at lower temperatures. O C The synthesis at the laboratory scale does not differ significantlyfromthecommercialprocedure. O HO O 1.2.4.1 Kinetics of Polyesterification C C O O O CH2 The kinetics of polyesterification have been mod- C O CH eled. In the models, the asymmetry of 1,2-propylene OH CH2 glycol was taken into account, because it bears a C O O O CH O O 3 O N CH3 O O C NCO N N C O CH3 O O H O CH 3 Figure1.8 Modifiednaturaloil(schematically)[40]. Figure1.9 Isocyanatesforadhesionimprovement[41]. 8 REACTIVE POLYMERS FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS primary and secondary hydroxyl group. The reac- not widespread. Most common is a cylindrical batch tivities of these hydroxyl groups differ by a factor reactorequippedwithstirrer,condenser,andajacket of 2.6. The relative reactivity of maleic and phthalic heater. Thus the synthesis in the laboratory and in anhydridestoward1,2-propyleneglycol,afterthering industryisverysimilar.Thetypicalsizeofsuchreac- opening of both anhydrides is complete, increases torsisbetween2and10m3. fromca.1.7to2.3whenthetemperatureisincreased We now illustrate a typical synthesis of an unsat- ◦ ◦ from160 Cto220 C[44]. urated polyester. The reactor is filled at room tem- The rate constants and Arrhenius parameters are perature with the glycol, in slight excess to compen- estimated by fitting the calculated conversion of the satethelossesduringthecondensation.Lossesoccur acidwithtimetotheexperimentaldataovertheentire because of the volatility of the glycol, but also due rangeofconversion.Forthecopolyesterificationreac- to side reactions. The glycol may eliminate water tions involving two acids, a cross-catalysis model is atelevatedtemperatures.Thenmaleicanhydrideand used[45].Theagreementbetweenmodelpredictions phthalic anhydride are charged to the reactor. Typi- andexperimentaldatahasbeenprovedtobesatisfac- cal for a general-purpose unsaturated polyester resin tory.Forexample,theenergyofactivationforthecon- is a ratio of 1mol maleic anhydride, 1mol phthalic densation reaction of 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol with anhydride,and1.1mol1,2-propyleneglycol.Further, maleicanhydridewasobtainedtobe65kJmol−1,and othercomponents,suchasadhesionpromoters,canbe with phthalic anhydride a value of 82kJmol−1 was added. obtained. The reactor is sparged with nitrogen and slowly ◦ heated.Atca.90 Ctheanhydridesreactwiththegly- 1.2.4.2 Sequence Distribution of Double colinanexothermicreaction.Thisistheinitialstepof Bonds thepolyreaction,showninFigure1.10.Attheendof the exothermic reaction a condensation catalyst may The polycondensate formed by the melt condensa- beadded. tionprocessofmaleicanhydride,phthalicanhydride, Catalysts such as lead dioxide, p-toluenesulfonic and1,2-propyleneglycolintheabsenceofatranses- acid, and zinc acetate [48] affect the final color of terification catalyst has a non-random structure with thepolyesterandthekineticsofcuring.Temperature a tendency toward blockiness. On the other hand, ◦ is raised carefully up to 200 C, so that the temper- the distribution of unsaturated units in the unsatu- ◦ ature of the distillate never exceeds ca. 102–105 C. ratedpolyesterinfluencesthecuringkineticswiththe Otherwisetheglycoldistillsout.Thereactioncontin- styrenemonomer.Segmentscontainingdoublebonds uesundernitrogenorcarbondioxideatmosphere.The close together appear to lower the reactivity of the spargingishelpfulforremovingthewater.Tracesof resin due to steric hindrance. This is suggested by oxygencancausecoloration.Thecolorationemerges the fact that the rate of cure and the final degree of due to multiple conjugated double bonds. Maleic conversion increase as the average sequence length anhydrideishelpfulinpreventingcoloration,because of the maleic units decreases. Due to the influence theseriesofconjugateddoublebondsareinterrupted of the sequence length distribution on the reactivity, byaDiels-Alderreaction.Inthecaseofsensitivecom- the reactivity of unsaturated polyester resins may be ponents, e.g., diethylene glycol, even small amounts tailoredbysophisticatedcondensationmethods. ofoxygencancausegellingduringthecondensation Methods to calculate the distributions have been reaction. workedout[46,47].MonteCarlomethodscanbeused toinvestigatetheeffectsofthevariousrateconstants and stoichiometry of the reactants. Also, structural asymmetry of the diol component and the influence O O ofthedynamicsoftheringopeningoftheanhydride CH OH 3 areconsidered. O +CH CH 2 OH OH O CH CH2 OH 1.2.5 Manufacture O O CH 3 Unsaturated polyesters are still produced in batch. Figure 1.10 Reaction of maleic anhydride with 1,2- Continuous processes have been invented, but are propanediol. 1:UNSATURATED POLYESTER RESINS 9 Therearecertainvariationsofwaterremoval.Sim- 2. Ifthepolyesteristoocold,itsviscositybecomes ply sparging with inert gas is referred to as the melt toohigh,whichjeopardizesthemixingprocess. condensation technique. In the case of thermal sen- sitive polyesters, the water may be removed by the Mixing can occur in several ways: either the azeotropetechnique.Tolueneorxyleneisaddedtothe polyester is poured into styrene under vigorous stir- reactionmixture.Bothcompoundsformanazeotrope ring, or under continuous mixing, or the styrene is with water. During reflux, water separates from the pouredintothepolyester.Thelastmethodispreferred aromatic solvent and can be collected. In the final inthelaboratory.Aftermixing,thepolyesterresinis stage,thearomaticsolventmustberemovedeitherby then cooled down to room temperature as quicklyas enhanced sparging or under vacuum. The azeotrope possible. Finally some special additives are added, technique is in general preferred, because condensa- such as promoter for preaccelerated resin composi- tion proceeds faster than in the case of melt conden- tion.Anunsaturatedpolyesterresinisnotmisciblein sation. allratioswithstyrene.Ifanexcessofstyreneisadded, Vacuum also can be used to remove the water, atwo-phasesystemwillemerge. althoughthistechniqueisusedonlyrarelyforunsatu- Theresinshaveaslightlyyellowcolor,mainlydue ratedpolyestersbecauseoftheriskofremovalofthe totheinhibitor.Thefinalproductisfiltered,ifneces- glycol. sary,andpouredintovatsorcans. At early stages, the progress of the condensation reaction can be controlled via the amount of water 1.3 Special Additives removed. In the final stage, this method is not suffi- cientlyaccurateandtheprogressismonitoredviathe 1.3.1 Inhibitors acid number. Samples are withdrawn from the reac- torandaretitratedwithalcoholicpotassiumhydrox- Thedoublebondsinanunsaturatedpolyesterresinare ide (KOH) solution. The acid number is expressed veryeasilyaffectedbyimpuritiesortheambienttem- in milligrams KOH per gram of resin. Even though peratureatthestageofstoring.Thehighertheambient other methods for the determination of the molecu- storagetemperatureorthelongerthestoragetime,the lar weight are common in other fields, the control of moreisthedangerofpreliminaryself-polymerization. theacidnumberisthequickestmethodtofollowthe Inthiswayanundesiredgelationoftheresinoccurs reaction. which makes the resin unusable. A monetary loss The kinetics of self-catalyzed polyesterification due to deterioration of the workability of the resin reactions follows a third-order kinetic law. Acid- occurs[49]. catalyzedesterificationreactionsfollowsecond-order There is a difference between inhibitors and kinetics.Inthefinalstageofthereaction,therecipro- retarders. Inhibitors stop the polymerization com- caloftheacidnumberislinearwithtime. pletely, whereas retarders slow down the polymer- General-purpose unsaturated polyester resins are ization rate. Inhibitors influence the polymerization condenseddowntoanacidnumberofaround50mg characteristics.Theyactintwoways: KOH/gresin.Thiscorrespondstoamolecularweight ofapproximately1000Da.Afterthisacidnumberhas 1. increasingthestoragetime, beenreached,someadditivesareadded,inparticular polymerization inhibitors , e.g., hydroquinone, and 2. decreasingtheexothermicpeakduringcuring. the polyester is cooled down, to initiate the mixing with styrene. The polyester should be cooled down CommoninhibitorsarelistedinTable1.3. to the lowest possible temperature. In any case the Inhibitorsareusedtoincreasethestoragetimeand temperatureofthepolyestershouldbebelowtheboil- toincreasethepotlifetime.Sometimesacombination ingpointofthevinylmonomer.Therearetwolimiting oftwoormoreinhibitorsisused,sincesometypesof issues: inhibitors act more specifically on the storage time andothersinfluencethepotlifetime. 1. If the polyester is too hot, after mixing with the The storage time of an unsaturated polyester resin vinyl monomer a preliminary curing may take increaseswiththeamountofinhibitor.Storageathigh place.Intheworstcasetheresinmaygel. temperaturesdecreasesthepossibleshelflife.Onthe 10 REACTIVE POLYMERS FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS Table 1.3 Inhibitors and Retarders for Unsaturated costsofperformingthismethodarehigh,thusunde- PolyesterResins[50] sirablyincreasingthepriceoftheproduct. Compounds 1.3.1.1 Shelf Life Extension 2-Methoxyphenol 4-Methoxyphenol The shelf life can be extended by enhancing the 2,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol oxygen content of the resin [49]. In this way, the 2,6-Di-tert-butylphenol self-polymerizationreactionofthereactivefunctional 2,4,6-Trimethylphenol 2,4,6-tris-Dimethylaminomethylphenol groupscanbeminimized. 4,4(cid:3)-Thio-bis(3-methyl-6-tert-butylphenol) Theoxygencontentmaybeenhancedbyintroduc- 4,4(cid:3)-Isopropylidenediphenol ingagascontainingoxygen.Theoxygen-containing 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol gasshouldcontain92%oxygen. 6,6(cid:3)-Di-tert-butyl-2,2(cid:3)-methylenedi-p-cresol Alternatively,theoxygencontentmaybeenhanced Hydroquinone by a chemical reaction that can produce oxygen. 2-Methylhydroquinone 2-tert-Butylhydroquinone Chemical substances that produce oxygen may be 2,5-Di-tert-butylhydroquinone depositedinafirstvesselthatisconnectedtoasecond 2,6-Di-tert-butylhydroquinone vesselinwhichtheresinisstored.Therefore,theoxy- 2,6-Dimethylhydroquinone gen produced from a chemical reaction may diffuse 2,3,5-Trimethylhydroquinone intoresin. Catechol 4-tert-Butylcatechol Suitablechemicalsubstancesfortheproductionof 4,6-Di-tert-butylcatechol oxygen are calcium peroxide, hydrogen peroxide, or p-Benzoquinone manganesedioxide[49]. 2,3,5,6-Tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone This method for extending the shelf life not only Methylbenzoquinone preventsformationofaproductwithadarkenedcolor, 2,6-Dimethylbenzoquinone but can also prevent the reduction of the reactiv- 1,4-Naphthoquinone Chloranil ity of the unsaturated polyester resin caused by the Picricacid addition of excessive inhibitor. Further, in compari- 1-Oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine sontotheconventionalmethod,inwhichtheunsatu- 1-Oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-4-ol(TEMPOL) ratedpolyesterresinisstoredinafreezerorisstored 1-Oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-4-one(TEMPON) usinganinhibitor,thismethodmayeffectivelyreduce 1-Oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-carboxylpiperidine 1-Oxyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine(4-carboxy-TEMPO) thecost. 1-Oxyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-carboxylpyrrolidine (3-carboxy-PROXYL) 1.3.2 Thickeners 1.3.2.1 Multivalent Salts Forsheetmoldingcompoundsandbulkmoldingcom- otherhand,highdosesofinhibitordetrimentallyinflu- pounds,theresinsarethickened.Thiscanbeachieved encethecuringoftheresin.Higheramountsofradical particularlywithMgO,ataconcentrationofabout5%. initiators are required in the presence of high doses Itisbelievedthatitfirstinteractswiththecarboxylic of inhibitors. The exothermic peak during curing is acidgrouponchains.Thenacomplexisformedwith reduced.Thisinfluencesthedegreeofmonomercon- the salt formed and the carboxylic acid groups of version.Ahighdegreeofconversionisneededtohave other chains, leading to an increase in viscosity. The optimalproperties. maximum hardness is achieved at 2% MgO with an Further, if the additive amount of the inhibitor increasefrom190MPato340MPaforthespecimen is excessive, the color of cured vinylester resin or cured at room temperature. High-temperature curing curedunsaturatedpolyesterresinbecomesdarkened, decreasesthehardness. thus undesirably degrading the appearance of the product[49]. 1.3.2.2 Thixotropic Additives Alternatively, the resin can be stored in a freezer duringtransportationorgeneralstoragetoreducethe For gel coat applications, fumed silica, precipitated preliminary polymerization reactions. However, the silica, or an inorganic clay can be used. Hectorite